Kiffin’s Tigers destroyed Dabo Swinney’s Tigers 51-10 in primetime to open the 2026 season.The Athletic Live Team September 6, 2026 at 11:37 AM EDTSam Leavitt (10) passed for one touchdown and rushed for two for LSU. Getty ImagesLSU crushes ClemsonLane Kiffin made an impressive debut as LSU's head coach, destroying Dabo Swinney and Clemson 51-10 to open the 2026 season.Sam Leavitt passed for 230 yards and one touchdown for LSU and added 113 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Running back Dilin Jones also rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns as LSU rolled up 644 yards of offense.Clemson finished with just 145 total yards and went 1-for-13 on third downs.Get involved in our game chat or send us your thoughts on this game at live@theathletic.com.SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementOpening statement for LSU, disaster for Clemson IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectSam Leavitt was really good. LSU’s defense was special. And Clemson was really bad. Lane Kiffin looked like he enjoyed every second, and Dabo Swinney looked exasperated from start to finish. That all adds up to a 51-10 LSU and a night that made a clear statement about both teams:LSU looks like a College Football Playoff contender, while Clemson looks like it’s headed to another season-long struggle.What's next for Clemson? IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectClemson returns home next Saturday to host Georgia Southern in another prime-time kickoff.What's next for LSU? IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectLane Kiffin's team stays at home next week for another night game, this time against Louisiana Tech.Tiger Stadium is best environment in countryTiger Stadium was our staff’s clear No. 1 choice as the best stadium in the country last year.Fans climbed trees and light poles to try to get a look of Lane Kiffin and the Tigers walking into the stadium. The pregame sidelines were packed five-people deep with celebrities (Livvy Dunne), NFL alumni (Justin Jefferson), recruits, other dignitaries and media members.“Electric,” said LSU fan Rachel LeBoeuf, who sported a button of Kiffin and Ed Orgeron wearing matching sweater vests.It’s hard to quantify how much the environment mattered, but one early sequence stands out. LSU’s noise helped force Clemson into a false start on second down. On third-and-long, Kiffin waved his arms in the air three times to get fans to yell even louder. His defense snuffed out the rush to force a punt.The atmosphere Saturday night was Death Valley at its best.Does this change expectations for LSU? IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectLSU entered the season just outside the top 10 in the AP poll, and the Tigers sure looked the part of a top-10 team. Clemson may not be very good based on what we saw, but LSU’s dominance speaks volumes on a day when other ranked teams had their hands full with less talented opposition.It’s still too early to stamp this team as one of the five best in the country or lock it into a College Football Playoff berth — after all, there’s still a lot of good teams left on the LSU schedule, including Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee among them.But Saturday’s start was promising. The offense produced in all phases. The defense was dominant. And the “Portal King” seems to have hit on most of the key transfers from his No. 1 portal class. This is about as strong a start as LSU fans could have drawn up for the Kiffin era. If Leavitt is healthy, the Tigers will be a problem for SEC teams throughout the 2026 season. At least for today, this absolutely looks like a Playoff team. SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementWhat went wrong on offense for Clemson (again)? Getty ImagesOne first down. Fifty-four yards. Three points, via a short field following a tipped interception. That’s all Clemson managed on offense in the first half. The second half, at that point, was irrelevant.It’s only one game, but the two biggest changes to the offense were a dud.Christopher Vizzina, the senior long expected to be the new starting quarterback, showed why it took until this week to be officially given the job. When Tait Reynolds, a three-star Class of 2026 signee, gave him a push this spring and summer, perhaps it said more about Vizzina than Reynolds. Vizzina, despite having some experience, including one start last year, looked spooked against the LSU pass rush.Reynolds didn’t look too much better when he replaced Vizzina, late in the first half and into the second half. But Vizzina had more experience and preparation and instead looked like the freshman.Then there was the decision to bring back Chad Morris as offensive coordinator. This is a long way from 2014, when Morris wrapped up his four-year stint and then left to become SMU’s head coach. Since his disastrous two-year tenure at Arkansas, Morris has bounced around, and this game didn’t make it look like it would be 2014 all over again.Is Clemson cooked already? IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThat might be premature. Season openers are overreaction theater, and it’s possible Clemson just ran into a storm — an LSU team and fan base in a foul mood. The motto on shirt-pins around campus: “Beat everybody.” And it was taken out on Clemson.But the gap on display Saturday night is unacceptable for Swinney’s program. Clemson and LSU played down to the wire last year, and both finished 7-6. LSU changed coaches and looked like a national title contender. Clemson looked like directional-school fodder.It doesn’t look good. But it’s also just one game.Dabo Swinney has to get the offense fixed. The Clemson defense was certainly dominated, but it also didn’t have any help, between field position and time on the field. There’s enough talent on defense to win games if the offense can move the ball.That looks like a big if.Third-down dominance IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectWant to see another key stat from tonight? LSU was 11-of-16 on third-down tries. Clemson? It went 1-of-13. That adds up to a lot of extra snaps for the home-standing Tigers.Kiffin era starts with a bang IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIf there was any wonder if Lane Kiffin’s team would allow the cacophony around the coach and the roster situation to divert its focus from Saturday’s primary task, it was erased pretty quickly.LSU was the better team by a mile, and that much was clear before halftime arrived. Sam Leavitt used his athletic ability to give Clemson’s defense headaches and ran for two early touchdowns; he found receiver Winston Watkins Jr. and tight end Trey’Dez Green early and often; running back Dilin Jones chewed up yards on the ground; and Clemson didn’t have much of an answer for any of it.Defensive coordinator Blake Baker did a good job of deploying the studs LSU has on that side of the ball, led by returning star linebacker Whit Weeks and transfers Princewill Umanmielen, Jordan Ross and TJ Dottery. The LSU front kept Vizzina from getting comfortable, and one well-timed, well-schemed blitz drawn up by Baker rattled Christopher Vizzina enough to force a poor throw that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown return by Ross.If this was supposed to be a heavyweight battle, LSU won by TKO before it got to the middle rounds.A special souvenir for a longtime LSU fanOn his way off the field, Lane Kiffin smiled and threw his visor into the stands. Charles Schmitz was in the rebound position. He's only been coming to Tiger Stadium for 66 years, so I believe him when he describes the night as “incredible.”Charles took off his own cap and started wearing Lane’s visor afterward. I asked him about the Lane Kiffin experience so far. His answer: “The whole college sports experience is chaotic. Why shouldn't LSU be in the middle of it?”SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementKiffin on pregame delayLane Kiffin said he was asked about shortening the 90 minutes during the rain delay. He did not want to because he wanted Clemson to sit in the visiting locker room as long as possible. That locker room, the former Alabama offensive coordinator and Ole Miss head coach said, “sucks.”Kiffin mum on NFL returneesLane Kiffin didn't have much to say about the “NFLSU” players going forward. The Tigers could still add Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris later this season, even though they didn't add them before tonight’s game. Kiffin declined to say what (if anything) he’ll do next with them.Lane Kiffin on the drama and its effects on his teams: “I think it's overrated.”... but a bigger one awaitsNo disrespect to Louisiana Tech, but LSU gets its actual cupcake opponent next week before Week 3 looms: Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss.No more easing into the schedule after that, in what may be one of the most hostile environments in recent college football history.LSU aces first test ... IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectI cannot get over how emphatic a statement that was by Lane Kiffin and LSU. They have been, very deservedly so, the lightning rod of a sport in constant chaos, burning bridge after bridge. Tonight showed why they believe it’s all worth it.LSU beat Clemson by 41 points. The Tigers treated one of the ACC’s proudest programs — and a team that met LSU in the national title game just six and a half years ago — like the lower-tier opponents most of the Tigers’ SEC peers played today. LSU racked up 644 total yards of offense. It had more than 300 yards rushing and passing. It set a program record for first downs in a game with 38. It ran 94 plays compared to Clemson’s 48.This team is loaded. There is plenty to be discussed and, quite literally, litigated about two potential additions to that roster. But LSU fans should dream big about what this team can accomplish this season under Kiffin after tonight.SKIP ADVERTISEMENTAdvertisementTime to acknowledge LSU as Playoff contenderLSU has had one of the 3-5 best rosters in the country all offseason. I never understood why they were so low in the preseason. It reminds me a lot of how people treated Texas Tech last year. It was obvious they had the best roster, but people wanted to see it. It didn't take long for them to look like clearly the best team in the Big 12. It shouldn't take long for people to re-assess how they see this LSU team.Swinney's program is in trouble IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectClemson is 7-7 in its past 14 games and 7-6 in its past 13 regular-season games. We can no longer look at Dabo Swinney’s program as one of the top programs in the country.Heck, it’s probably not even one of the best in the ACC. Clemson is in real trouble the rest of this season.LSU, Clemson on opposite pathsWhat I learned tonight from LSU-Clemson:LSU looks like a Playoff team.Lane Kiffin and his staff hit big on their top transfers.Sam Leavitt looks fully healthy, which is dangerous for opponents.LSU defensive coordinator Blake Baker called a hell of a game and is sure to continue getting head coaching interest after this season.Clemson probably should have signed an experienced quarterback in the transfer portal.The difference between LSU’s and Clemson’s rosters was night and day, which is bad news for Clemson’s hope at contending for anything of significance this year.The end of the Dabo Swinney era feels more inevitable now than it ever has.Administrative supportLane Kiffin embraces LSU’s president on his way off the field after an emphatic ending to a tumultuous week.